Why won't they let the investigation play out?

[BlueStater]

If they see something unflattering in their findings about Franken, they should just wait until the investigation concludes, release any information to the public, and then call for him to step down. What's up with this coordinated bullshit they're pulling today? I'm disgusted beyond words.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. Because they think "going high" is more important than actually being effective.

We go high. They go low anyhow and don't care.

[bluestarone]

2. agree

What's there fucking hurry? Do they know something we don't?

[msongs]

3. allowing due process IS going high. some people don,t get that concept. nt

[diva77]

9. +1,000,000,000,000 THIS!!!!

Well stated.

[unblock]

4. we can't discount the possibility that there's an uglier story out there

or that franken knows there's an endless parade of groping allegations.

either way, franken knows better than any of us how this would all play out, and that may have factored in to his decision.


remember his apology seemed way, way too much for just the one isolated incident.

[Ohiya]

5. There must be more to the story

I don't believe Franken would resign if there weren't...

[BlueStater]

7. If there's an uglier story, then the public has the right to know what it is.

Right now, it just looks like they're throwing one of their colleagues under the bus over some very weak allegations.

[unblock]

10. yes i certainly hope something approximating those standards could apply to republicans as well!

[loyalsister]

6. Because there are other things that warrant our attention

Get it off the front page and let's watch what they do with the tax bill. Maybe we should pay more attention to what kind of damage Trump is doing to international relationships.

[hlthe2b]

8. I don't know. It is like five accusations or 10 or whatever of ANY KIND meet some kind of threshold

I have a nagging feeling that we are going to find out AFTER the fact that some of these accusations were highly questionable or open to interpretation, or worse, coordinated for "maximal effect" by Franken- (or Democrat-) detractors. I also have a strong instinctive feeling that Franken has been specificallty targeted, knowing he is generally an honorable man, who will not want to hurt his party or future progress and that his past as a comedian lends itself well to misunderstandings or misinterpretation of past events.

What is making me absolutely nauseous, is that conflating all forms of sexual misbehavior in the current climate is going to devastate efforts to go forward and effect meaningful change.

As a staunch feminist who has long experienced the "two mini steps forward, 10 furlongs backwards" phenomenon over the past decades, this possibility scares me to death. I think we are stepping right into that trap.

[Lurks Often]

11. Because it is unlikely that the investigation will find a definitive answer

This is very much a he said/they said case and there is unlikely to be any hard evidence to prove either side right or wrong.

I don't know what is going behind the scenes or why so many Democratic Senators are suddenly pressuring Franken to resign.

It's possible internal polling is suggesting that the allegations could have a negative impact for the Democratic Party in the 2018 races.

Given the rather lethargic pace at which Congress often proceeds, I can see an inconclusive investigation lasting well into the spring and even early summer. With 8 current accusers and possibly more to arrive in the weeks and months ahead, combined with an investigation that neither proves or disproves the allegations and I can definitely see this has having a negative impact on the 2018 elections among the average voters and quite possibly an extremely negative impact among average WOMEN voters.

[bluestarone]

12. well after investigation it's he said she said then

i want Al in the senate!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

[BlueStater]

13. To me, it sets a bad precedent.

If they're going to throw Franken under the bus over these weak accusations, what's to stop other Democratic politicians from being brought down by allegations that might just be completely baseless? Someone could claim, for example, that Chuck Schumer himself is a serial groper and there wouldn't be any real way for him to prove his innocence.

[Lurks Often]

15. What's to stop other politicians from being brought down by allegations that might just baseless

The answer is nothing and I expect the 2018 elections to be especially nasty.

As I posted back on 11/16:
Lurks Often (5,294 posts)

The trickle of allegations became a stream and the stream became a flood

Sexual assault and sexual harassment is unacceptable no matter who it does it.

There are going to be more allegations in the future against people we hate and people we like. I suspect many of these allegations will be true, but how do we decide if the allegations are true or lies designed to destroy people's careers and damage their lives?

[XRubicon]

14. Have these Senators called for Trump to Resign?